Darrel Maloney Books

Countdown to Armageddon

Countdown to Armageddon Book 1
Scott Harter was an average man. He wasn't dumb, but he'd never be invited to join Mensa either. He'd liked to have married a beauty queen, but his average looks certainly did nothing to attract any. Neither did his vanilla personality.
No, Scott was average in every way, except when it came to luck. He was a very lucky man. And that's how he managed to discover what the Mayans really meant about the world ending on December 21st, 2012.
Scott learned that the Mayans never said the world was going to end that day. What they said was that day marked the beginning of a period that would see the end of civilization as we know it. The Mayans called it "The last period of progress."
Scott knew that big changes were coming. The Mayans left several clues about the pending disaster. He just didn't know when. He didn't know if he had two days to prepare, or two years.
To protect his family, Scott threw every resource he had into preparing for the end. And some resources he didn't have.
This is Scott's story.

After the Dust Settled Book 2
Book two, “After the Dust Settled,” finds the group struggling with a new reality in a vastly changed world. Nothing about the new world was going to be easy. Despite their best planning, life keeps throwing them curveballs. Their number has grown. And some of the group has secrets they’re keeping.
The world is now a vicious and dangerous place.
The city of San Antonio is slowly dying. The once proud jewel of South Texas becomes a city of abandoned cars and piles of bones. And a plague.
But San Antonio keeps calling them back.
And each time is a dangerous new adventure.

Rise From The Ashes Book 3
Sometimes the best of plans fall short.
Scott Harter thought he'd covered every base, and planned for everything. His family was safe and comfortable, months after solar storms destroyed modern society and turned the world's cities into killing grounds.
But he never planned on a good friend needing medicine that only he had the capability to deliver. And he never expected to be stranded in a decimated city, shot by bandits and left to die, then being unable to go home because of a deadly plague.
He never expected to be a part of the effort to bring the city of San Antonio back to life once again.
And he certainly never thought his family, tucked away in a secure compound ninety miles north of the city, would be fighting for their lives without him.

An Undeclared War Book 4
Near Kerrville, the compound comes under a vicious attack by a band of outlaws. Scott and John lead a group of men coming to their aid. The cavalry is on its way.
But it's ninety miles away.
The group fights valiantly but loses one of its own. The loss tears at their very soul, and threatens to rip them apart.
It also changes them, as a group and as individuals. They are now more hardened. More cynical. More suspicious of strangers.
And perhaps a little more aware that life really is a fragile and precious thing, to be treasured.
Tom struggles with a monumental decision that could change the makeup of the group forever.
And new love blossoms.

The Homecoming Book 5
At the compound in Junction, life settles into a peaceful routine. Tom Haskins is regarded as a local hero for his role in killing the Garza gang and for putting their bodies on display as a warning to other marauders. He's asked by the Kerrville City Council to accept the role of Kerr County Sheriff.
In nearby San Antonio, the plague continues to wreak havoc, even in its waning days. Scott Harter, nearing the end of his self-imposed exile, learns that Becky has been keeping a secret.
But Becky's not the only one with secrets. First Tom, then young Zachary, disappear from the compound. Each of them has a very personal and very secret mission to attend to.
The worst secret of all, though, is held by Robbie Benton, one of San Antonio's finest police officers. The end of the plague is expected to bring joy to all and unite many loved ones. But it will also give Robbie the opportunity to murder one of his closest friends.

The Quest Book 6
As the story winds down, the plot continues to twist and turn.
Robbie, once an outstanding police officer and now teetering on the edge of insanity, moves forward with his plans to assassinate his friend John. But things don’t go according to plan.
Sara moves forward with her own plans, to locate the mother she once thought was complicit in the horrific abuse she’d suffered as a child. Now aware that her mother was instead a victim herself, Sara strikes out with her friend Tom to find her and bring her back.
On the way they encounter a little girl named Millicent who wins Sara’s heart, a Texas Ranger named Randy who quotes Shakespeare, and a brutal man who has Tom beaten to within an inch of his life.
And all the while, ninety three million miles away, the storms are brewing again on the face of the sun…

Castroville Book 7
Tom Haskins is near death, severely beaten and taken prisoner by the vilest man in south central Texas. He knows that young Sara and their Texas Ranger friend are coming to rescue him. But he doesn’t know when or how. He’s determined to try to help them, but he’s chained to the floor, broken and almost helpless. As sorry a state as he’s ever been in. And a mob of people come pouring out of the ranch house to witness his execution. Has Tom seen his last sunrise?
In nearby San Antonio, Robbie Benton has finally decided to make his move. He wants to carry out his vendetta against John Castro, steal Hannah, and to take her far away from San Antonio forever. Before the day is out, seven people will lay dead.
And to all of them, good and bad, the cruelest deed of all is getting ready to play out. And their lives will be changed forever.


Final Dawn Series

1. Escape From Armageddon
What would you do if you finally found the love of your life, and were making plans to spend eternity with them - and then found out that eternity was only two years? Mark is a romantic and carefree young engineer, and a bit of a cornball. His beloved Hannah is a beautiful scientist. Pragmatic, intelligent and analytical, she longs for the family she never had, and a change from her horrific childhood. Mark offers that change, and her life is finally complete. Then Hannah discovers that mankind is doomed. Suddenly their lives become a mad scramble, to find a way to save themselves and everyone they love.

#2. Hidden
In Book 1 of this series, "Final Dawn", we met Hannah and Mark. She was a brilliant scientist, working for a NASA contractor. He was a successful engineer and a bit of a cornball. Together they made the perfect pair. They were a young couple in love, and looking forward to a bright future. Everything changed the day Hannah found out the world was doomed. She discovered a meteorite headed for earth that would wipe out most of mankind. The United States government, led by a corrupt President more concerned with saving his cronies than his citizens, tried to silence her. When she was able to spread the word anyway, President Sanders did what politicians usually do. He lied. “Don’t worry,” he told his citizens. “We have a plan. We’ll work with the Chinese. We’ll send up a weapon with a powerful nuclear warhead, capable of diverting the meteorite onto another path.” People around the world were conflicted. They desperately wanted to believe. No one wanted to die. But they knew they couldn’t trust their governments. Some panicked. Some rioted. Some calmly accepted their fate. And some, like Mark and Hannah, continued their efforts to save themselves and the people they loved. A few days before impact, the mine they would call home for the next seven years was finally ready. Mark and Hannah gathered up family and friends and gave them shelter. It wasn’t a tropical paradise, but it would keep them alive. "Final Dawn" ended when Saris 7 collided with the earth. Around the world, millions were dying. But deeply hidden in an old salt mine outside of Junction, Texas, these forty people would survive. Here, in "Hidden", is the story of their survival.

#3. Breakout
he world has finally thawed. It's been seven long years since a meteorite called Saris 7 struck the earth and plunged it into a nuclear winter. Most of the world has perished. But there are pockets of survivors here and there. Hidden deep within an abandoned salt mine are Mark and Hannah and forty others. They've gone through the worst and are looking forward to coming out and starting the next chapter of their lives. But the world is still a very ugly place, and it's not going to be easy.

The Siege (Book 4)
Mark and Hannah, and their group of forty one, are just getting comfortable in their mountain hideaway. For six and a half years they’d scratched out a minimal existence in an old salt mine, waiting for the world to thaw. Now they’ve entered a new home and a brave new world. One of sunshine, fresh air, and new opportunities.
But the gods of fate aren’t going to make it easy on them. They are forced to evacuate their new home by a band of ruthless outlaws.
They aren’t ready to give it up, though. So they go to war… literally, and use guerilla tactics to take out the outlaws a few at a time.
Along the way, there are other problems to deal with. One of their own commits an act so heinous he is put on trial. The group must decide whether to do something they’d never had to do before: banish someone they know well and love.
On Buena Vista Drive, a massacre kills all but a handful of residents. They’re forced to leave everything behind, and are given refuge in the compound. Frank is seriously wounded in the battle, and despite Eva’s assurances he’ll recover, it didn’t look good.
It isn’t all gloom and doom, though. Hannah and the girls still have fun at their guys’ expense. Little Markie continues to grow and to see his new world in wide-eyed wonder. And new love blossoms.

The Army Comes Calling (Book 5)
After the thaw, when the survivors broke out into the sunshine again, they faced a new danger. They’d been able to raise livestock, and even a limited number of crops, while locked within the earth. Now there were others who saw what they had and wanted it for themselves.
Others who were more inclined to take things by force, than by reason.
The group fought fierce gun battles to protect what was theirs. Now, when it seemed they’d finally won, they looked forward to a long period of peace.
Then the Army came calling. On a beautiful spring day, out of a clear blue sky, a helicopter landed.
The tall colonel was an officer, but certainly not a gentleman. Neither was he diplomatic. Instead of reason or negotiation, he merely stated his demands.
“By order of the President of the United States, I have the authority to seize your livestock and your crops. Prepare them now. My people will be here to pick them up tomorrow.”
Now the group of forty one had a decision to make. Should they roll over and give everything they’d worked so hard for to the United States Army? Or do they risk everything, including their own lives, to take on the Army and the government, as they’d taken on other outlaws and bullies?
They were a proud and determined bunch. Much too determined to just roll over and surrender.

Missing (Book 6)
In their early days together, when a meteorite crashed into the earth and forced them into an abandoned salt mine to survive a seven year freeze, they battled together and endured.
And after the thaw they battled again, against evil men who tried to take what they'd worked so hard for.
Now, at a time when everything appeared to be running smoothly, they were fighting again. Fighting against time to find three of their own. One was injured, alone and afraid... and lost in the woods. Two others had gone away on a helicopter and never returned. A helicopter they later learned had crashed.
Despite their desperate efforts, not all would survive.
And not all would be found.

The Search (Book 7)
Even after the earth thawed and allowed them to venture out again, the world had become a dark and evil place. Other survivors had gotten accustomed to taking what they wanted at the end of a gun. And merely surviving from one day to the next was extremely difficult.
The group had avoided a war with the United States Army by giving up half their livestock, and in the process had formed a friendship with an Army colonel named Montgomery. So much so that two of the group’s members accepted an offer from Colonel Montgomery to tour a relief compound in nearby San Antonio.
Their helicopter crashed, and John perished. Hannah made it, but just barely, and developed a special bond with the only other survivor: a crewmember named Joel who saved her life.
Back at the compound, Sarah was missing. She’d gone into the forest to pick wildflowers and never returned. Her trail went cold at an isolated roadway where a dog-handler said someone picked her up.
“From here, she could have gone anywhere,” he said, and the search began.
Sarah was injured, afraid, and brainwashed by an evil man who freely admitted he had no soul. He’d killed many times before and would think nothing of killing again. As soon as he grew tired of Sarah or she wore out her usefulness.
Her life depended on Bryan and the others finding her in time and rescuing her from her captor.
Don’t get comfortable. This one has unexpected plot twists to the very end.

A Long Road Back (Book 8 )
The original group of forty who went into Salt Mountain has changed in so many ways. Some are dead now. Others have taken their place. All have seen the worst of humanity in a cold and increasingly harsh world. One in which those lucky enough to have survived have learned to take without regard for others. Where the lawless run roughshod over the timid. Where few have to answer for their actions.
Some among the group have strayed from the laws of civilized society. Some have strayed from the tenets of right and wrong. Some have joined the ranks of the lawless. And others among them… the ones who swore to protect and serve, and to administer justice… they’re caught between a rock and a hard place.
The world has lost nearly all its people. Those who have survived the turmoil have settled into an uneasy new existence. One in which the lawful seldom stray far from their homes and the lawless continue to take without consequence.
Only sometimes there are consequences. Sometimes prairie justice is appropriate. Sometimes traditional justice is cast aside.
And sometimes things are not what they appear to be.
Round Two is on the way. A world that has changed so much in ten years has only begun to be turned upside down.
And not everyone will survive.

Alone Series
1. Facing Armageddon

Dave and Sarah Anna Speer had been preparing for Armageddon for years. They thought they’d covered all the bases, and had planned for everything. It never occurred to them that the single thing they had no control over was the timing.
Sarah was on an airplane with her young daughters when solar storms bombarded the earth with electromagnetic pulses. Everything powered by electricity or batteries was instantly shorted out and would never work again.
Dave was suddenly alone. He was also unsure whether his family was dead or alive. He assumed that the airplane stopped working and plunged from the sky. But it was scheduled to land in Kansas City at almost the exact time everything stopped working.
Had they landed in time? Was it possible they survived?
This is the story of a man facing Armageddon alone. It chronicles the things he does to survive in a newly vicious world. It also includes Dave’s desperate and poignant diary entries to his wife. Just in case she did survive, and somehow makes it back to him to find he didn’t make it himself.

An Unkind Winter (book 2)
In this sequel, Dave’s saga continues. He struggles to survive the worst winter on record, stuck in a house with a dead man, sitting frozen solid on his kitchen floor. He is haunted by the unknown: whether his family is still alive, and where they might be. He also has serious doubts about his mental health, and suspects he might be going insane.
Dave is